Astleys of London Large Canadian Estate Briar Pipe

Description

Astleys was one of London’s most historic pipe and tobacco shops. Like many pipe tobacconists, its owners had pipes made specially to be sold under the shop’s name. Astleys pipes, however, were made by some of the premier pipe manufacturers and artisans in the UK, such as Dunhill, Charatan, Les Wood, and Ken Barnes and Barry Jones of James Upshall. As a result, Astleys pipes are prized for their quality, and as examples of the very finest British pipes.

I would imagine that this Astleys was made by Ken and Barry at James Upshall. It’s clearly handmade, but isn’t Les Wood’s style, at least in my experience. As Ken and Barry carved their pipes freehand, and didn’t use shape charts, there was a real variety in the kinds of designs they’d put out. This Canadian, for example, is an almost perfectly traditional example of the English-French standard, but for the gently faceted shank it features. The stain is a beautiful walnut brown – much like Upshall’s ‘P’ grade – which is offset by the simplicity of the pipe’s black ebonite stem. Anyway, whoever made it, this is a lovely, large (though not unreasonably heavy) pipe from the famed London tobacconist.

The condition is great. I noticed one or two very minor scratches on the pipe’s finish, but they’re superficial, and only noticeable right up close.

 

Details:

Length: 6.2″ / 157.4mm

Bowl Width: 0.91 / 23.11mm

Bowl Depth: 1.84″ / 46.73mm

Weight: 1.6oz / 46g